Trump says he bombed Iran

[CriticalStinker]

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There is still significant value in deploying Marines (specifically a Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, with amphibious ships) to the region even without launching a full-scale ground invasion of Iran.
In short, Marines offer scalable, expeditionary tools that give commanders options in a naval/coastal theater like the Persian Gulf—making deployment worthwhile for containing the conflict and protecting global interests, even if no all-out ground war ensues.

Deterrence and presence — Positioning Marines offshore signals U.S. resolve, discouraging further Iranian escalation (e.g., mining the strait, using fast boats, or anti-ship missiles) without immediate ground commitment.
Rapid crisis response — MEUs are designed for quick-reaction missions: maritime security patrols, protecting or escorting commercial vessels, non-combatant evacuations (e.g., of U.S. personnel or allies), or reinforcing regional bases.
Limited, targeted operations — Options include raids on coastal sites (e.g., missile batteries, ports used for attacks, or islands in the strait), seizing key facilities like oil terminals (e.g., Kharg Island discussions), or clearing threats without occupying large swaths of Iranian territory. Amphibious forces excel at such "from the sea" actions.
Supporting broader objectives — Enhancing protection of shipping lanes, countering Iranian naval/minelaying threats (which airstrikes alone haven't fully neutralized), and providing options if the conflict widens—without the massive commitment of a full invasion.

That’s all fine and dandy, but your AI assisted predictions have been wrong about almost every aspect of this conflict since the summer.

[putnam6]

I tend to listen to Victor Davis Hanson well not listen but read his transcripts. I do think his assessment mirrors Uncle Sammy's military arm, his reason why has some merit 

Id expect the A-10s to be used in the interior at some point soon, depending on thier kill and survival rate,
in the Strait is.

It's that simple.

Despite Iran's herculean efforts, they are likely on the brink. It's a matter of time

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M.A. Rothman

@MichaelARothman
·
1h


Victor Davis Hanson has spent fifty years studying how wars end. When he says the tide is turning, it's worth listening to why.

His argument isn't based on what the Pentagon is saying.

It's based on how everyone else is behaving.

VDH's rule: Europeans never agree to go anywhere near a conflict unless they think the winning side has already been determined.

They didn't help in the early days. Now they're starting to move. That movement is not idealism. It's a calculation. They've looked at the battlefield and decided which way this ends.

The Saudis, the Emiratis, the Qataris — these governments have survived for generations by reading the regional climate with precision. When they expel Iranian military attachés, when they intercept Iranian missiles over their own capitals and say nothing about American strikes, when the UAE reaffirms its $1.4 trillion investment commitment to the United States mid-war — they are not making ideological statements. They are placing bets. And they are betting on the United States.

This is the one that should stop you cold. Al Jazeera — the Qatari state media network, historically critical of American military action, the network Tucker Carlson and the anti-war right love to cite against Israel — is now calling the U.S. bombing campaign brilliant and effective, and saying it has been underestimated. When the media outlet of a nation that hosts both the largest American air base in the Middle East and a Hamas political office starts praising American military effectiveness, the message is unmistakable:

A-10 Warthogs and Apache helicopter gunships are now flying strike missions in Iranian airspace at will. VDH's point: you only deploy those aircraft when there is effectively no air defense left to threaten them. They are slow, low-flying, close-support platforms. Their presence confirms what the Pentagon has been claiming — Iran has no meaningful air defense remaining.

Iran's strategy now is rope-a-dope. Run out the clock. Wait for American public opinion to shift. Hope the midterms create political pressure on Trump to stop. It is the only play they have left. VDH's conclusion: if Trump sees it through — and he believes he will — the regime falls. Not in years.

[Oldcarpy2]

Putnam6 wrote:


  "??? ?????????. VDH's rule: Europeans never agree to go anywhere near a conflict unless they think the winning side has already been determined."

Nonsense, apart from two World Wars, how about the Falklands, Afghanistan, etc.

What absolute shameless tosh.

[cherokeetroy]

An argument can be made that US and Israel not only need to secure the Strait but they need to take total control over it to win the AI war against China

Controlling the major chokepoints means controlling the minerals supply chain

Not to mention the major cables that run through the Strait and Red Sea


"The U.S can't replace its own destroyed radars because Iran just choked off the minerals needed to build them.

West Point just published an analysis showing sulphur trade through the Strait of Hormuz is nearly dead, and sulphur is what you need to extract copper and cobalt from ore.

Those metals go into everything from microprocessors to jet engines to the explosives in missiles.

It'll take over 30,000 kg of copper just to replace the two major radars Iran destroyed in Bahrain and Qatar. At least 9 radars have been targeted across the region.

The damage status of each is still unknown. The cost could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. In the meantime, sulphur prices have spiked 165% year over year.

This is huge because only 6% of US defense contractors have transparent supply chains, so military planners are just now realizing they can't actually manufacture their way out of this war.

A West Point analyst warns it could cost double or more than before the war to replace destroyed weapons, assuming markets can even provide enough minerals at all."

Source: Guardian, ABC News

https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/2034893...61939?s=20


"Big technology firms such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google have poured billions into building huge data centres in Gulf countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia. 


Their plan was to turn the region into the next big centre for artificial intelligence. The undersea cables connect these centres to markets and users across two continents — Asia, and Africa."

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/oi...2026-03-19

[andy06shake]

"warning from Professor Mearsheimer. He explains how the war in Iran will trigger a global famine. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, the world is losing its fertilizer supply, leading to massive food shortages, hyperinflation, and millions of deaths."

https://x.com/FurkanGozukara/status/2034...19723?s=20



But gas is still cheap!

Hands up, which first-world nations, at current population levels.

Can feed themselves without importing foodstuffs?

Or can grow their own food supply without fertilizer?

And the answer is none that i can think on.



Corpse Starch Anyone?

[Oldcarpy2]

Soylent Green?

[IdeomotorPrisoner]

This isnt aging well. And now you know Trump had no clue what to do after the "shock and awe" portion.

The long awaited overthrow of Iran is being commanded by a Doublespeak Gargomel having long stole the Ayatollah's saber to rattle.

It's painful. He's trading threats with the new supreme leader to destroy oil facilities.  He's supposed to obliterate their main oil facility now, at least according to his threats yesterday.  

Yet, he's got Iran's back to their FINAL wall.  But he is not going to get an EU coalition to open up the straight - which defeats Iran. 

So he needs to prove that America is so great we can do it alone.. Aren't we? Isn't there NO NATO without us or something?  Wasn't that the main point of screwing with the NATO alliance? 

Seems somewhat dishonorable to berate EU Allies for years for not spending and then groveling for assistance when Iran still has the ability for an ad hoc strait blockade.

I dont want to say this is the beginning of the end but...  I am going to stop doing Tarot readings for this administration.

Because the bullet points of my "Witchcraft prediction for 2026" were:

• instability, conflict, or feeling unwelcome
• hardship, financial loss, isolation, feeling abandoned, or material or spiritual struggle
• neglect
• insecurity, overbearing/smothering behavior, creative blocks, financial/resource issues,the misuse of intellect, authority, or power, representing manipulation, tyranny, coldness, and unethical logic, or conversely, a weak, unassertive mind lacking clarity.
• disharmony, broken family dynamics, unrealistic expectations, or feeling unfulfilled

When I did that, I thought, "It cant get THAT bad."

 To the panic room...

[andy06shake]

Soylent Green?

Well, that can's Green....

My pi@s poor attempts at levity aside.

We live on an island of approximately 70 million.

Imagine the UK.
 
If we could not import foodstuffs from abroad.

Cannibalism would be on the cards inside six months.

And that's probably being too kind.

[Oldcarpy2]

"warning from Professor Mearsheimer. He explains how the war in Iran will trigger a global famine. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, the world is losing its fertilizer supply, leading to massive food shortages, hyperinflation, and millions of deaths."

https://x.com/FurkanGozukara/status/2034...19723?s=20



But gas is still cheap!

It's all going swimmingly.  Nothing to see here.  The stable genius has it all worked out.

What could possibly go wrong? 

[putnam6]

U.S. stockpiles have taken hits, but the military remains fully operational.

Iran Severe degradation. U.S. and Israeli strikes have targeted air defenses, missile sites, navy assets, nuclear-related facilities, and leadership. Trump and officials claim Iran's air force, navy, missile industry, and defenses are "knocked out" or "gone," rendering much of their (including Russian/Chinese-origin) systems ineffective or destroyed.


 

These are  U.S. losses and U.S./Western sources .

• U.S. losses (reported/estimated):
  • Casualties (killed + wounded): Vary widely. Some reports cite low dozens killed (e.g., around 13-20 confirmed in early stages from incidents like aircraft crashes or strikes). Other claims (often from Iranian or pro-Iran outlets) allege hundreds killed and thousands wounded in the first week or two.
    
  • Equipment: Significant but not catastrophic relative to U.S. scale. Examples include dozens of MQ-9 Reaper drones destroyed (each ~$30M), some fighter jets (e.g., F-15s in incidents), Patriot/THAAD systems damaged, and billions in total asset losses estimated (e.g., $3-4B in the first weeks from drones, radars, aircraft, etc.). U.S. stockpiles have taken hits, but the military remains fully operational.
    
• Iran losses (reported/estimated):
  • Casualties: Much higher in most neutral/Western reports — thousands killed/injured from airstrikes, including military personnel, leadership figures, and civilians. Early aggregates suggest hundreds to thousands on the Iranian side.
    
  • Equipment: Severe degradation. U.S. and Israeli strikes have targeted air defenses, missile sites, navy assets, nuclear-related facilities, and leadership. Trump and officials claim Iran's air force, navy, missile industry, and defenses are "knocked out" or "gone," rendering much of their (including Russian/Chinese-origin) systems ineffective or destroyed.
    

In summary, the asymmetry is stark: The U.S. (with advanced tech, air superiority, and precision strikes) has inflicted far greater damage on Iran's military infrastructure and forces, while sustaining relatively limited (though costly) losses. Iran's equipment — including systems from Russia (e.g., air defenses like S-300 equivalents) and China (e.g., drones, missiles) — has not prevented overwhelming U.S./allied dominance in the air and missile domains, aligning with Trump's "useless" characterization in that context.
This reflects broader military disparities (U.S. vastly outspends and out-technologizes Iran)

 

Eric Daugherty

@EricLDaugh

BREAKING: President Trump just EMBARRASSED China and Russia

 saying Iran had their equipment but it was useless against the USA "I don't want to get too crazy here — not a contest...they had a lot of great equipment, Russian equipment, Chinese equipment!" "Equipment was USELESS against us. USELESS." "No force on earth can beat the American sailors or the American military."